• Home
• About me
• Contact
• Categories
  • babies
  • beach
  • bridal
  • children
  • engagement session
  • families
  • lifestyle
  • maternity
  • personal
  • pet
  • prom
  • seniors
  • Uncategorized
  • vintage
  • wedding
• Archives
  • June 2017
  • January 2017
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • May 2015
  • January 2015
  • September 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • October 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • February 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • September 2010
• Galleries
  •   Children
  •   Families
  •   Weddings
• Facebook

I’ve added birth documentary photography to my offerings in the past year, and I absolutely love it.
One of my favorite assignments. I love the unobtrusive fly on the wall style that allows me to be present but not in the way, or usually even noticeable, which capturing some of the sweetest, cutest, funniest, most priceless moments in a family’s life together.

I’ve already shared this slideshow on my business Facebook page but wanted to share it here as well.

Sweet Sadie came into the world at MUSC East Cooper amidst style, love, and humor!

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

 

It’s family beach photos time again!

 

Here’s a sampling of Folly Beach, Charleston, and Isle of Palms family beach portraits from last season.

I’ve been photographing some of these families for years, and I love catching up each summer!

 

My middle school daughter, since school is out for the summer, selected the images for this post.
Best intern ever.
She has a great grasp on my style, and is terrific at choosing images that convey to families what they can expect from a family portrait session with me.
We don’t tend to showcase the more standard, formal, everyone looking at the camera and smiling images, but that doesn’t mean I don’t take them.
Traditional, framed family portraits are valuable and important for posterity. I love the way an upcoming family describes it:
They want fun family candids, but also want a “90’s JC Penney catalog” type portrait of the whole family.
YES!!!!
Everyone needs a catalog shot.

She also intuitively abides by the rule we’ve come up with together. “Happy people, real smiles, Mom looks good.”
That’s so important. I want fellow mothers to love, or at least like, the way they look in family portraits.
And if that means selecting a few images and asking me to fluff hair, streamline a midsection (I call it “virtual Spanx”), reduce wrinkles, or whatever,
I’m all about it.

Not because we aren’t already awesome exactly as we are.
But because I understand a bad hair day because someone poured all the conditioner down the drain, or dragged peanut buttery fingers through your bangs, or left you so sleep-deprived that the new orange highlights honestly seemed like an awesome idea at the time.

Been there. I’ve got you!

 

Happy summertime–

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

Judah Wilde and Jeremiah Cole should be coming into the world as I type!

 

I spent a little time with my friend and colleague McBee Photography and her boys Saturday, to document one of their last days as a family of Mom and three boys, to Mom and five boys.
She’s always said she’d like to run a home for boys someday. May not be the way she’d originally envisioned achieving that goal, but she’s making it happen all on her own!
She is such a Superwoman. I was being a bit of a brat and HAD to find an instrumental version of Book of Love (the song sheet on their piano) for their slideshow, and couldn’t find a simple one I liked to purchase. So I texted her and said, “Hey I know you’re a single mother of three and business owner who’s 39 weeks pregnant with twins and all but can you play Book of Love and record it for 3 1/2 minutes? In your spare time tonight?”
And 10 minutes later I got the audio file, with apologies for it being rough.
But it didn’t sound rough to me. It sounded charming and personal and imperfectly perfect.

On pins and needles waiting to hear the news!

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

 

Around this time last year, I photographed the coolest baby shower at Restoration on King in downtown Charleston.

Let’s face it, no one is circling “baby shower” on the calendar and excitedly highlighting it with bright colors and arrows. I love how these days, friends are sure to show their love and excitement for each other, but reinvent time-honored traditions to make them fun for everyone. I knew this was no traditional shindig when the guys rolled in with the Yeti. Now it’s a party!

And the decor was fabulous. The oranges, yellows and and grays were the perfect hues to complement the open loft space. And while the vibe was chic and Lowcountry urban, they didn’t shy away from sweet, whimsical touches. It’s a baby shower, after all!

 

Well done, friends and family of John and Ashkia. You hit it out of the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

 

While compiling this series of photographs from the past year, I realized that I tend to like my images best when they are whimsical and/or dreamy. It’s hard to define one’s style, but I look back at this collection as well as collections from previous years and a theme is emerging for me. Lighthearted and romantic. Silly and soulful. Goofy and moody.

This explains why I’m obsessed with the dreamy imperfect look of freelensing, but also love to include a folder of outtakes to wedding clients. Why I’m just as likely to obsess over capturing the perfect blue sky and full moon shot as I am capturing the flower girl with a finger up her nose. Why a cinematic beach portrait in silhouette is great, but not necessarily better than snapping a slobbery dog mouth with a tennis ball 10 inches from the lens.

The best part of my job is that “my people” keep finding and trusting in me, year after year, and although I’m admittedly terrible about keeping up with my blog, I’m so excited to share some of the wonderful moments I’ve made, in collaboration with my Charleston clients, over the past year. This selection is from the past couple of months; I hope to share a lot more from the rest of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Kate and Jonathan were married in the small garden at his mother’s home on Broad Street and took a horse and carriage ride to their reception at the Carolina Yacht Club.

I’ve always been outspoken about my love for weddings at home, so I was thrilled to be there. There’s such a lighthearted, personal feel.

Kate asked for very minimal posed photos and lots of candid moments. I was happy to do that, and their whole crew made it so easy, especially with all the adorable, camera-happy little ones running around!

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

January for portrait photographers is like summer for teachers.

Preparations, desk work and continuing education are always a priority, but there’s also a little time to creatively meander, and it’s fabulous. Here’s to growth through downtime!

My goal this month is to dust off my film cameras- I don’t think I turned them on my children even once last year.

Dreary days are perfect for moody Holga and twin lens reflex images.

Meanwhile, here’s another collection of unpublished 2014 portraits. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

I get nervous before every shoot.

We all do.

It’s a great thing-it keeps us on our toes. Packing lists to triple-check, meeting someone new, and the generalized anxiety of our responsibility to you and your family. It’s never something we take lightly, going into it.

Yet when I return from a wedding or family session, my husband will joke,

 

“Let me guess. They were the nicest and most interesting group you’ve ever met.  They were ‘totally precious and you just adored them all’, right?”

 

Yep. That’s how it always works.

Your hugs, expressions,  inside jokes, even the way you squabble. Each group has a unique fingerprint.

I can’t really explain it, but I think you are ALL the cat’s pajamas.

Some sessions and weddings have been blogged already, and a few weddings are still pending publication elsewhere, but here’s Part One one of a sampling of my 2014 work that I haven’t yet shared:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

I met up with adorable Anna and Ian against this year at Folly Beach.

It’s funny. I always notice how much children have grown when I photograph them multiple times, but the difference between almost two year old twins and almost three year old twins is amazing. They were talking! And walking around like they owned the place! Crazy.

As we were making our way to the Morris Island Lighthouse overlook, we noticed smoke coming from the forested area between the lane and the beach.

Really, quite a lot of smoke. And popping noises.

Fascinating and a smidge frightening, but they were dressed and we were halfway there, so no turning back.

After we played on the beach for about 45 minutes, all the while hearing sirens and seeing the smoke steadily crawl the sky like a charcoal predator, we walked back and encountered the fire truck and and other bystanders.

Apparently someone drove onto the beach, started doing doughnuts in the sand, and flipped up onto the dunes, catching his engine on fire. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Thankfully, no one was hurt. But it’s a photo shoot none of us will soon forget.

Thanks, FBFD!

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

 

 

It’s no secret that I love a rainy wedding day.

Preferable not ALL day, and of course I wouldn’t wish less-than-perfect weather on anyone. But when it does happen, I find the resulting images to be lighthearted, intimate, and romantic.

Whitney and Andy planned their Charleston destination wedding from California, where Andy is in the Air Force.

There’s a certain joyful, calm, festive atmosphere that accompanies most destination weddings, and this one was no different.

No stress, just fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitney surprised Andy by renting this vintage car (Camaro? I think? Please let me know if you recognize it for sure!) for Andy to show up in and as their getaway car.

 

 

 

 

I love this shot.  Check out the dapper groomsman’s expression.

 

Apple butter wedding favors. Ask any wedding photographer-we love our wedding swag! Especially at destination weddings, guests tend to leave favors behind, so we’re often offered goodies on the way out. I’ve made shrimp and grits from gift bags of local grits, brought home candy to the kiddos, sipped personalized wine, added to our collection of monogrammed cups and koozies (yes, we really do use them, and remember our favorite moment or image from your wedding every time.) I wasn’t sure what to use the apple butter for at first, but one day I stirred it into an apple crisp I was throwing together. Delicious!

I’m not sure how safe this was, but it was one of my all-time favorite shots of last year. I love the Mad Men vibe.

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Older Posts »